Bible Commentary (1871–1879 Edition) (continued)
27m; Frophel T/irealcnclh Ephraim, ISAIAH XXVIII. and Rehukelh their Erron.
while it is yet—t. e., immediately, without delay; describing the eagerness of the Assyrian Shalmaneser, not merely to conquer, but to destroy utterly Samaria; whereas other conquered citjes were often spared. 513. The prophet now turns to Judah ; a gracious promthe whole benefit designed to be brought about by the chastisement, namely, the removal of his (Israel's) siu
(viz., ol)jeet of idolatry; Ueuterouomy 9.21; Hosea 10. S). wlieii He—Jeliovah; at tlie destruction of Jerusalem by Nebucliaduezzar, His instrument. The Jews ever since he.ve abliorred idolatry (cf. ch. 17. 8). not staitd up—shall ise to the remnant ("residue"); a warning lest through like sins Judah should share the fate of Samaria, crown—in antithesis to the "fadi)ig crown" of Ephraim rise no nioi-e. [Uousley.] 10. city—Jerusalem ; the beating asunder of whose altars and images was mentioned in V. 9 (cf. ch. 24. 10-12). calf feed—(ch. 17. 2), it shall be a vast wild pasture, brandies—resuming the image of the vine (II. 2. 6). 11. l»ojighs . . . brolieii off—so the Jews are called (Romans 11. 17, 19, 20). set . . . on fli-e—burn them as fuel; "women" are specified, as probably it was their office to collect fuel and kindle the fire for cooking, no understanding—as to the ways of God (Deuteronomy
(v. 1, 3). tile residue—primarily, Jucto/i, in the prosperous reign of Hezekiali (2 Kings 18. 7), antitypicaily, the elect of
God; as He liere is called their "crown and diadem," so are they called His (ch. G2.S); a beautiful reciprocity. 6. Jehovah will inspire their magistrates with justice, and their soldiers with strength of spirit, turn . . . battle to . . . gate—The defenders of their country who not only repel the foe from themselves, but drive him to the gales of his own cities (2 Samuel 11. 23; 2 Kings 18. 8). 7. Though Judah is to survive the fall of Ephraim, yet "they also" (the men of Judah) have perpetrated like sins to those of Samaria (ch. 5. 3, 11), which must be chastised by God, erred . . . are out of the way — stagger . . . reel. Repeated, to express the frequency of the vice, priest . . . prophet—If the ministers of religion sin so grievously, how much more the other rulers (ch. 56. 10, 12) ! vision even in that most sacred function of the prophet to declare God's will revealed to them, jiulgmcntthe priests had the administration of the law committed to them (Deuteronomy 17. 9; 19. 17). It was against the law for the priests to take wine before entering the tabernacle (Leviticus 10.9; Ezekiel 44.21). 9,10. Here the drunkards are introduced as scofllngly commenting on Isaiah's warnings : " Whom tvill he (does Isaiah presume to) teach knowledge? And whom will He make to understand instruct
82. 28, 29 ; Jeremiah 5. 21 ; Hosea 4. 6). 13. Restoration of the Jews from their dispersion, described under the image of fruits shaken from trees and collected, beat off—as fruit beaten off St tree with a stick (Deuteronomy 2-1.20), and then gathered, river—Euphrates, stream of Egypt—on the coullnes of Palestine and Egypt (Numbers 34. 5; Joshua 15. 4, 47), now Wady el-ArUh, Jehovah's vineyard, Israel, extended according to His pui'pose from the Nile to the Euphrates U Kings 4.21,24; Psalm 72. 8). one by one—gathered most carefully, not merely as a nation, but as individuals. 13. great trumpet— image from the trumpets blown on the first day of the seventh month to summon the people to a holy convocation (Leviticus 23.
24). An ti typically, the gospel trumpet (Revelation 11. 15;
14. G) which the Jews shall hearken to in the last days (Zechariah 12. 10; 13. 1). As the passover in the first mouth answers to Christ's crucifixion, so the day of atonement and the idea of " salvation" connected with the feast of tabernacles in the same seventh mouth, answer to the crowning of "redemption" at His second coming; therefore redemption is put last in 1 Corinthians 1. 30. Assyria —whither the ten tribes had been carried ; Babylonia is mainly meant, to which Assyria at that time belonged; the two tribes were restored, and some of the ten accompanied them. However, "Assyria" is designedly used to point ultimately to the future restoration of the ten fully, never yet accomplished (Jeremiah 3. 18). Egypt—whither many had fled at the Babylonish captivity (Jeremiah 41.
tion f Is it those (t. e., does he take us to be) just weaned, &c. ? For (he is constantly repeating, as if to little children) precept upon precept," &c. line—a rule or law. [M ATJRER.] The repetition of sounds in Hebrew tzav latzav, tzav latzav, qav laqav, qav laquav, expresses the scorn of the imitate I's of Isaiah's speaking ; he spoke stammeririg (v. 11). God's mode of teaching ottends by its simplicity the pride of sinners (2 Kings 5. 11, 12 ; 1 Corinthians 1. 23). Stammerers as they were by drunkenness, and children in knowledge of God, they needed to be spoken to in the language of children, and "with stammering lips" (cf. Matthew 13.
17, 18). Cf. as to the future restoration, ch. 11. 11, 12, 16 ; 51. 9-16 (" Rahab" being Egypt).
13). A just and merciful retribution. 11. For—rather, Trxdy. This is Isaiah's reply to the scofl'ers : Your drun ken questions shall be answered by the severe lessons ITom God conveyed through the Assyrians and Babylonians
CHAPTER XXVIII.
Ver. 1-29. Chaps. 2S.-33. form almost one continuous prophi oy concerning the destruction of Ephraim, the Impiety and folly of Judah, the danger of their league with Egypt, the straits they would be reduced to by Assy I la, from which Jehovah would deliver them on their turning to Him; ch. 28. refers to the time just before the sixth year of Hezekiah's reign, the rest not very long before his fourteenth year. 1. crown of yriAc—Hebrew for "proud crown of W\e drunkards," &c. [Horsley], r)i2., Samaria., the capital of Ephraim, or Israel. "Drunkards," the dialect of these, though Semitic, like the Hebrew, was so far difl'erent as to sound to the Jews like the speech of stammerei-s (cf. ch. 33. 19 ; S6. 11 ). To them who will not understand God will speak still more unintelligibly. Rather, " He (Jehovah) who hath said to them." this . . . tlie rest —reference may be primarily to " rest" from national warlike preparations, the Jews being at the time " weary" through various precedingcalaurities, as the Syro-Israelite invasion (ch. 7. 8 ; cf. ch. 30. 15; 22. 8; 39. 2; 36. 1 ; 2 Kings,
IS. 8). But spiritually, the "rest" meant is that to be found in obeying those very " precepts" of God (v. 10) which they jeered at (cf. JereiAiah 6. 16 ; Matthew 11. 29). 13. But —rather, Therefore, viz., because " they would not hear" lit. (u. 7, 8; ch.5. 11,22; Amos 4. 1; 6. 1-6) and metaphorically, like drunkards, rushing on their own destruction, beauty. . . llovver—" whose glorious beauty or ornament is a fading liower." Carrying on the image of "drunkards;"
(v. 12). tliat tlicy might go—the designed result to those who, from a defect ot the will, so far from profiting by God's mode of instructing, "precept upon precept," <$ic., made It into a stumbling-block (Hosea 6.5; 8. 12; Matthew 13. 14). go and fall—image appropriately from "drunkards" (v. 7, it was the custom at feasts to wreatlie the brow with flowers; so Samaria, "which is (not as English Fe?'ston, ' which are') upon the head of the fertile valley," i. e., Situated on a hill surrounded with the rich valleys as a garland (1 Kings 16. 24) ; but the garland is " fading," as garlands often do, because Ephraim is now close to ruin (cf. ch. 16.8); fulfilled 721 B. c. (2 Kings 17. 6, 24). 3. strong one—the Assyrian (ch. 10. 5). cast down viz., Ephraim (v. 1) and Samaria, its crown. witU . . . hand—with Di'oZence (ch. 8.
6, which they were) who in trying to " go" forward " hill backward." 14. scornful— (Note v. 9, 10.) 15. said—virtually, in your conduct, if not in words, coven.mt—there may be a tacit reference to their confidence in their "covenant" with the Assyrians in the early part of Hezekiah's prosperous reign, before that he ceased to i>ay tribute to them, as if it ensured Judah from evil, whatever might befall the neighbouring Ephraim (v. 1). The full meaning is shown by the language ("covenant with death —hell," or sheol) to apply to all lulled In false security spiritually (P.salm 12.4; Ecclesiastes 8. 8; Jeremiah 8.11); the godly alone are in covenant with death (Job 5. Xi,
11). 3. crown . . . tHe drunkards—rather, "the crown of the drunkard >." 4. Rather, "the fading flower, their glorious beautj {v. 1), which is on the head of the fat
(fertile) valley, shall be as the early fig." [O. V. Smith.] Figs usually ripened in August; but earlier ones (i/e6?'ei(/ bikkurah, Spanish bokkore) in June, and were regarded as a delicacy (Jeremiah 24. 2; Hosea 9. 10 • Micah 7. 1). 460